When any part of the rail gets out of reach, automatically switch to ghost build mode while avoiding obstacles"

Clicking with shift or pressing shift enters ghost build mode while removing obstacles. Releasing shift switches back to the other mode (avoiding obstacles either direct build or ghost build depending on the range)

If you really must place a short length of ghost which is within reach, and do not want to direct build it, then you simply have to move out of range first.

This allows cliff avoiders to carry on avoiding cliffs, but also follows the player's natural instinct to press shift when they are ghost buiding and see an obstacle that they want the bots to remove.

When any part of the rail gets out of reach, automatically switch to ghost build mode while avoiding obstacles"

Clicking with shift or pressing shift enters ghost build mode while removing obstacles. Releasing shift switches back to the other mode (avoiding obstacles either direct build or ghost build depending on the range)

If you really must place a short length of ghost which is within reach, and do not want to direct build it, then you simply have to move out of range first.

This allows cliff avoiders to carry on avoiding cliffs, but also follows the player's natural instinct to press shift when they are ghost buiding and see an obstacle that they want the bots to remove.

When any part of the rail gets out of reach, automatically switch to ghost build mode while avoiding obstacles"

Clicking with shift or pressing shift enters ghost build mode while removing obstacles. Releasing shift switches back to the other mode (avoiding obstacles either direct build or ghost build depending on the range)

If you really must place a short length of ghost which is within reach, and do not want to direct build it, then you simply have to move out of range first.

This allows cliff avoiders to carry on avoiding cliffs, but also follows the player's natural instinct to press shift when they are ghost buiding and see an obstacle that they want the bots to remove.

It is a terrible idea to involve reach into building control.

I agree it's a bad idea, and also that doesn't solve the issue of having too many different building states, which is what Wube seem to have wanted to simpllify.
Which, btw., i also think was a bad idea.

With any other blueprint placing, if I see an obstacle I hold shift to place the blueprint while removing the obstacle. This makes the same function work with rails.

Rails are fundamentally different than all other objects, in that you can (and actually must in some circumstances) place them by using a unique mode. It's reasonable to expect that mode has other unique qualities to make it work better.

"So you completed the game with a spaghetti factory? Well I hand crafted a rocket and threw it into space with my bare hands!"

With any other blueprint placing, if I see an obstacle I hold shift to place the blueprint while removing the obstacle. This makes the same function work with rails.

that "I agree it's a bad idea" was a response to involving REACH into building and now you're talking about something completely different.
firstly, reach is not involved in any other building IIRC (besides obviously being/not being able to manually place something further away),
secondly, it already worked in such a way that holding shift placed a ghost and marked obstacles for deconstruction.

if anything, they actually made it work the same as other objects that without shift you always place that object manually, while with it you place a ghost and decon obstacles.
the problem is, we think they shouldn't.

but i understand their point, and i think i would personally prefer to have a separate "rail planner" item with appropriate options/checkboxes to remove obstacles or not (and also options to build 2 parallel rails with automatic signals etc.), and keep the rail item to work like any regular item, or leave it working the way it works now.

With any other blueprint placing, if I see an obstacle I hold shift to place the blueprint while removing the obstacle. This makes the same function work with rails.

[...]

but i understand their point, and i think i would personally prefer to have a separate "rail planner" item with appropriate options/checkboxes to remove obstacles or not (and also options to build 2 parallel rails with automatic signals etc.), and keep the rail item to work like any regular item, or leave it working the way it works now.

Anything but another item I'd rather they make an option in the options -> other menu to have the old way or the new way then have another item in my already too small inventory, especially at the start - or they can add a button to the new addition to the quickbar to toggle that behaviour

I also hope. It makes so much sense. You have upgrade and remove next to your hotbar, can change the settings (and they get saved) if you want to have multiple settings, you just drop it into your inventar (like its now). Problem solved.